ATSC 3 application context switching and sharing

ABSTRACT

Techniques are described for expanding and/or improving the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 television protocol in robustly delivering the next generation broadcast television services. When automatically switching from presenting a service on a first frequency to a second frequency such as when a mobile receiver is moving through a boundary region between two broadcasters, the current broadcaster application is notified and depending on the context, may continue executing or send data to the new broadcaster application.

FIELD

This application relates to technical advances necessarily rooted in computer technology and directed to digital television, and more particularly to Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0.

BACKGROUND

The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 suite of standards is a set of over a dozen industry technical standards as indicated in A/300 for delivering the next generation of broadcast television. ATSC 3.0 supports delivery of a wide range of television services including televised video, interactive services, non-real time delivery of data, and tailored advertising to a large number of receiving devices, from ultra-high definition televisions to wireless telephones. ATSC 3.0 also orchestrates coordination between broadcast content (referred to as “over the air”) and related broadband delivered content and services (referred to as “over the top”). ATSC 3.0 is designed to be flexible so that as technology evolves, advances can be readily incorporated without requiring a complete overhaul of any related technical standard.

As understood herein, an ATSC 3.0 receiver scans for services including in reception areas that contain two or more frequencies carrying the same or equivalent service, as may occur in a boundary region in which broadcast signals from two regional ATSC 3.0 broadcaster stations overlap. These boundary regions exist in a multifrequency network (MFN).

SUMMARY

As further understood herein, when an ATSC 3.0 receiver is changing services (channels) from one channel with an associated broadcaster application to another channel, the receiver is expected to check to see if the new channel has a broadcaster application signaled, and if there is and the new channel's broadcaster application has a same “context id” or “application context ID” as the old channel, the original broadcaster application continues to run without interruption. However, absent present principles a broadcaster application can receive notification of a service change only due to user action. Moreover, when the two broadcaster applications have different context ids (or the same context id, but different uniform resource locators (URLs)), but are related applications (for example, stations in neighboring areas cooperating), the outgoing broadcaster application may want to send data to the incoming broadcaster application. Thus, while ATSC A/344:2021 standard includes a mechanism for a broadcaster application to request and receive notifications of the service (channel) change, absent present principles this has significant limitations around context id, user action originated actions, and application URLs. Present principles solve the problem of coordinating between broadcaster applications when doing automated tuning such as when traversing a boundary region in a multifrequency network (MFN) to facilitate a well-integrated viewer experience, both for cooperating broadcasters in the same broadcast area and for cooperating broadcasters in adjoining broadcast areas.

Accordingly, in digital television in which at least one receiver can receive broadcast signals from at least first and second digital television broadcast assemblies, a method includes automatically handing off presentation of a first digital TV service from a first frequency to a second frequency. Responsive to handing off presentation, the method includes signaling to a first broadcaster application (BA) associated with the first frequency that presentation is to be handed off or is being handed off, and selectively sending data associated with the first BA to a second BA associated with the second frequency.

In some embodiments, the method can include identifying whether a context ID associated with the first BA is the same as a context ID associated with the second BA. If desired, responsive to the context IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, the method can include continuing to execute the first BA throughout the automatically handing off presentation of the first digital TV service from the first frequency to the second frequency.

In some implementations, the first BA is associated with a first uniform resource listing (URL) and the second BA is associated with a second URL, and the method comprises, responsive to the context IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, switching the first BA from the first URL to the second URL. In other implementations, the first BA is associated with a first uniform resource listing (URL) and the second BA is associated with a second URL, and the method comprises, responsive to the context IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, sending data associated with the first BA to the second BA and executing the second BA to present the first service.

In some implementations, the method includes sending data associated with the first BA to the second BA responsive to handing off presentation regardless of whether a context ID of the first BA is the same as a context ID of the second BA and regardless of whether the first and second BAs have a common uniform resource locator (URL).

In example implementations, the condition for changing frequencies includes loss of the first signal by the first tuner. In other example implementations, the condition for changing frequencies includes degradation of the first signal. In still other example implementations, the condition for changing frequencies includes quality of the second signal surpassing quality of the first signal.

Note that in some embodiments a first BA can notify a receiver that data should be passed to a second BA, if that needs to happen and then the first BA either keeps the data up-to-date or calls the API periodically to update the receiver what the data that needs to be passed is.

In another aspect, an apparatus includes at least one receiver configured to receive a first digital television (DTV) service on a first frequency, present the first DTV service on at least one audio video display device, and receive the first DTV service on a second frequency. The receiver is configured to, responsive to at least one handoff condition being met, switch from presenting the first DTV service received on the first frequency to presenting the first DTV service received on the second frequency, and signal a first broadcaster application (BA) associated with the first frequency of the switch.

In another aspect, an apparatus includes at least one receiver having at least one processor programmed with instructions to configure the processor to execute a first broadcaster application (BA) to present a first service received on a first frequency on at least one audio video (AV) display device. The first service includes at least one digital television service. The instructions are executable to automatically switch presenting the first service received on the first frequency to presenting the first service received on a second frequency associated with a second BA, and signal the first BA of the switch.

The details of the present application, both as to its structure and operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 system;

FIG. 2 illustrates components of the devices shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example specific system;

FIG. 4 illustrates a first example embodiment of a digital TV receiver;

FIG. 5 illustrates a second example embodiment of a digital TV receiver;

FIG. 6 illustrates example transmitter logic in example flow chart format consistent with present principles;

FIG. 7 illustrates example receiver logic in example flow chart format consistent with present principles; and

FIGS. 8-10 illustrate logic of techniques for broadcaster application signaling pursuant to automatic handoff from FIG. 7 in example flow chart format consistent with present principles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure relates to technical advances in digital television such as in Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 television. An example system herein may include ATSC 3.0 source components and client components, connected via broadcast and/or over a network such that data may be exchanged between the client and ATSC 3.0 source components. The client components may include one or more computing devices including portable televisions (e.g. smart TVs, Internet-enabled TVs), portable computers such as laptops and tablet computers, and other mobile devices including smart phones and additional examples discussed below. These client devices may operate with a variety of operating environments. For example, some of the client computers may employ, as examples, operating systems from Microsoft, or a Unix operating system, or operating systems produced by Apple Computer or Google, such as Android®. These operating environments may be used to execute one or more browsing programs, such as a browser made by Microsoft or Google or Mozilla or other browser program that can access websites hosted by the Internet servers discussed below.

ATSC 3.0 publication A/344, incorporated herein by reference, may be particularly relevant to techniques described herein.

ATSC 3.0 source components may include broadcast transmission components and servers and/or gateways that may include one or more processors executing instructions that configure the source components to broadcast data and/or to transmit data over a network such as the Internet. A client component and/or a local ATSC 3.0 source component may be instantiated by a game console such as a Sony PlayStation®, a personal computer, etc.

Information may be exchanged over a network between the clients and servers. To this end and for security, servers and/or clients can include firewalls, load balancers, temporary storages, and proxies, and other network infrastructure for reliability and security.

As used herein, instructions refer to computer-implemented steps for processing information in the system. Instructions can be implemented in software, firmware or hardware and include any type of programmed step undertaken by components of the system.

A processor may be a single- or multi-chip processor that can execute logic by means of various lines such as address lines, data lines, and control lines and registers and shift registers.

Software modules described by way of the flow charts and user interfaces herein can include various sub-routines, procedures, etc. Without limiting the disclosure, logic stated to be executed by a particular module can be redistributed to other software modules and/or combined together in a single module and/or made available in a shareable library. While flow chart format may be used, it is to be understood that software may be implemented as a state machine or other logical method.

Present principles described herein can be implemented as hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof; hence, illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are set forth in terms of their functionality.

Further to what has been alluded to above, logical blocks, modules, and circuits can be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A processor can be implemented by a controller or state machine or a combination of computing devices.

The functions and methods described below, when implemented in software, can be written in an appropriate language such as but not limited to hypertext markup language (HTML)-5, Java/Javascript, C# or C++, and can be stored on or transmitted through a computer-readable storage medium such as a random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage such as digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices including removable thumb drives, etc. A connection may establish a computer-readable medium. Such connections can include, as examples, hard-wired cables including fiber optics and coaxial wires and digital subscriber line (DSL) and twisted pair wires.

Components included in one embodiment can be used in other embodiments in any appropriate combination. For example, any of the various components described herein and/or depicted in the Figures may be combined, interchanged or excluded from other embodiments.

A recitation of “having at least one of A, B, and C” (likewise “having at least one of A, B, or C” and “having at least one of A, B, C”) includes alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.

Turning to FIG. 1 , an example of an ATSC 3.0 source component is labeled “broadcaster equipment” 10 and may include over-the-air (OTA) equipment 12 for wirelessly broadcasting, typically via orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in a one-to-many relationship, television data to plural receivers 14 such as ATSC 3.0 televisions. One or more receivers 14 may communicate with one or more companion devices 16 such as remote controls, tablet computers, mobile telephones, and the like over a short range, typically wireless link 18 that may be implemented by Bluetooth®, low energy Bluetooth, other near field communication (NFC) protocol, infrared (IR), etc.

Also, one or more of the receivers 14 may communicate, via a wired and/or wireless network link 20 such as the Internet, with over-the-top (OTT) equipment 22 of the broadcaster equipment 10 typically in a one-to-one relationship. The OTA equipment 12 may be co-located with the OTT equipment 22 or the two sides 12, 22 of the broadcaster equipment 10 may be remote from each other and may communicate with each other through appropriate means. In any case, a receiver 14 may receive ATSC 3.0 television signals OTA over a tuned-to ATSC 3.0 television channel and may also receive related content, including television, OTT (broadband). Note that computerized devices described in all of the figures herein may include some or all of the components set forth for various devices in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

Referring now to FIG. 2 , details of examples of components shown in FIG. 1 may be seen. FIG. 2 illustrates an example protocol stack that may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software. Using the ATSC 3.0 protocol stack shown in FIG. 2 and modified as appropriate for the broadcaster side, broadcasters can send hybrid service delivery in which one or more program elements are delivered via a computer network (referred to herein as “broadband” and “over-the-top” (OTT)) as well as via a wireless broadcast (referred to herein as “broadcast” and “over-the-air” (OTA)). FIG. 2 also illustrates an example stack with hardware that may be embodied by a receiver.

Disclosing FIG. 2 in terms of broadcaster equipment 10, one or more processors 200 accessing one or more computer storage media 202 such as any memories or storages described herein may be implemented to provide one or more software applications in a top-level application layer 204. The application layer 204 can include one or more software applications written in, e.g., HTML5/Javascript running in a runtime environment. Without limitation, the applications in the application stack 204 may include linear TV applications, interactive service applications, companion screen applications, personalization applications, emergency alert applications, and usage reporting applications. The applications typically are embodied in software that represents the elements that the viewer experiences, including video coding, audio coding and the run-time environment. As an example, an application may be provided that enables a user to control dialog, use alternate audio tracks, control audio parameters such as normalization and dynamic range, and so on.

Below the application layer 204 is a presentation layer 206. The presentation layer 206 includes, on the broadcast (OTA) side, broadcast audio-video playback devices referred to as Media Processing Units (MPU) 208 that, when implemented in a receiver, decode and playback, on one or more displays and speakers, wirelessly broadcast audio video content. The MPU 208 is configured to present International Organization for Standardization (ISO) base media file format (BMFF) data representations 210 and video in high efficiency video coding (HEVC) with audio in, e.g., Dolby audio compression (AC-4) format. ISO BMFF is a general file structure for time-based media files broken into “segments” and presentation metadata. Each of the files is essentially a collection of nested objects each with a type and a length. To facilitate decryption, the MPU 208 may access a broadcast side encrypted media extension (EME)/common encryption (CENC) module 212.

FIG. 2 further illustrates that on the broadcast side the presentation layer 206 may include signaling modules, including either motion pictures expert group (MPEG) media transport (MMT) protocol (MMTP) signaling module 214 or real-time object delivery over unidirectional transport (ROUTE) signaling module 216 for delivering non-real time (NRT) content 218 that is accessible to the application layer 204. NRT content may include but is not limited to stored replacement advertisements.

On the broadband (OTT or computer network) side, when implemented by a receiver the presentation layer 206 can include one or more dynamic adaptive streaming over hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) (DASH) player/decoders 220 for decoding and playing audio-video content from the Internet. To this end the DASH player 220 may access a broadband side EME/CENC module 222. The DASH content may be provided as DASH segments 224 in ISO/BMFF format.

As was the case for the broadcast side, the broadband side of the presentation layer 206 may include NRT content in files 226 and may also include signaling objects 228 for providing play back signaling.

Below the presentation layer 206 in the protocol stack is a session layer 230. The session layer 230 includes, on the broadcast side, either MMT protocol 232 or ROUTE protocol 234. Note that the ATSC standard provides an option to use MPEG MMT for transport, though it is not shown here.

On the broadband side the session layer 230 includes HTTP protocol 236 which may be implemented as HTTP-secure (HTTP(S)). The broadcast side of the session layer 230 also may employ a HTTP proxy module 238 and a service list table (SLT) 240. The SLT 240 includes a table of signaling information which is used to build a basic service listing and provide bootstrap discovery of the broadcast content. Media presentation descriptions (MPD) are included in the “ROUTE Signaling” tables delivered over user datagram protocol (UDP) by the ROUTE transport protocol.

A transport layer 242 is below the session layer 230 in the protocol stack for establishing low-latency and loss-tolerating connections. On the broadcast side the transport layer 242 uses (UDP 244 and on the broadband side transmission control protocol (TCP) 246.

The example non-limiting protocol stack shown in FIG. 2 also includes a network layer 248 below the transport layer 242. The network layer 248 uses Internet protocol (IP) on both sides for IP packet communication, with multicast delivery being typical on the broadcast side and unicast being typical on the broadband side.

Below the network layer 248 is the physical layer 250 which includes broadcast transmission/receive equipment 252 and computer network interface(s) 254 for communicating on the respective physical media associated with the two sides. The physical layer 250 converts Internet Protocol (IP) packets to be suitable to be transported over the relevant medium and may add forward error correction functionality to enable error correction at the receiver as well as contain modulation and demodulation modules to incorporate modulation and demodulation functionalities. This converts bits into symbols for long distance transmission as well as to increase bandwidth efficiency. On the OTA side the physical layer 250 typically includes a wireless broadcast transmitter to broadcast data wirelessly using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) while on the OTT side the physical layer 250 includes computer transmission components to send data over the Internet.

A DASH Industry Forum (DASH-IF) profile sent through the various protocols (HTTP/TCP/IP) in the protocol stack may be used on the broadband side. Media files in the DASH-IF profile based on the ISO BMFF may be used as the delivery, media encapsulation and synchronization format for both broadcast and broadband delivery.

Each receiver 14 typically includes a protocol stack that is complementary to that of the broadcaster equipment.

A receiver 14 in FIG. 1 may include, as shown in FIG. 2 , an Internet-enabled TV with an ATSC 3.0 TV tuner (equivalently, set top box controlling a TV) 256. The receiver 14 may be an Android®-based system. The receiver 14 alternatively may be implemented by a computerized Internet enabled (“smart”) telephone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a wearable computerized device, and so on. Regardless, it is to be understood that the receiver 14 and/or other computers described herein is configured to undertake present principles (e.g. communicate with other devices to undertake present principles, execute the logic described herein, and perform any other functions and/or operations described herein).

Accordingly, to undertake such principles the receiver 14 can be established by some or all of the components shown in FIG. 1 . For example, the receiver 14 can include one or more displays 258 that may be implemented by a high definition or ultra-high definition “4K” or higher flat screen and that may or may not be touch-enabled for receiving user input signals via touches on the display. The receiver 14 may also include one or more speakers 260 for outputting audio in accordance with present principles, and at least one additional input device 262 such as, e.g., an audio receiver/microphone for, e.g., entering audible commands to the receiver 14 to control the receiver 14. The example receiver 14 may further include one or more network interfaces 264 for communication over at least one network such as the Internet, a WAN, a LAN, a PAN etc. under control of one or more processors 266. Thus, the interface 264 may be, without limitation, a Wi-Fi transceiver, which is an example of a wireless computer network interface, such as but not limited to a mesh network transceiver. The interface 264 may be, without limitation, a Bluetooth® transceiver, Zigbee® transceiver, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) transceiver, Wireless USB transceiver, wired USB, wired LAN, Powerline or Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA). It is to be understood that the processor 266 controls the receiver 14 to undertake present principles, including the other elements of the receiver 14 described herein such as, for instance, controlling the display 258 to present images thereon and receiving input therefrom. Furthermore, note the network interface 264 may be, e.g., a wired or wireless modem or router, or other appropriate interface such as, e.g., a wireless telephony transceiver, or Wi-Fi transceiver as mentioned above, etc.

In addition to the foregoing, the receiver 14 may also include one or more input ports 268 such as a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port or a USB port to physically connect (using a wired connection) to another CE device and/or a headphone port to connect headphones to the receiver 14 for presentation of audio from the receiver 14 to a user through the headphones. For example, the input port 268 may be connected via wire or wirelessly to a cable or satellite source of audio video content. Thus, the source may be a separate or integrated set top box, or a satellite receiver. Or, the source may be a game console or disk player.

The receiver 14 may further include one or more computer memories 270 such as disk-based or solid-state storage that are not transitory signals, in some cases embodied in the chassis of the receiver as standalone devices or as a personal video recording device (PVR) or video disk player either internal or external to the chassis of the receiver for playing back audio video (AV) programs or as removable memory media. Also, in some embodiments, the receiver 14 can include a position or location receiver 272 such as but not limited to a cellphone receiver, global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver, and/or altimeter that is configured to e.g. receive geographic position information from at least one satellite or cellphone tower and provide the information to the processor 266 and/or determine an altitude at which the receiver 14 is disposed in conjunction with the processor 266. However, it is to be understood that that another suitable position receiver other than a cellphone receiver, GPS receiver and/or altimeter may be used in accordance with present principles to determine the location of the receiver 14 in e.g. all three dimensions.

Continuing the description of the receiver 14, in some embodiments the receiver 14 may include one or more cameras 274 that may include one or more of a thermal imaging camera, a digital camera such as a webcam, and/or a camera integrated into the receiver 14 and controllable by the processor 266 to gather pictures/images and/or video in accordance with present principles. Also included on the receiver 14 may be a Bluetooth® transceiver 276 or other Near Field Communication (NFC) element for communication with other devices using Bluetooth® and/or NFC technology, respectively. An example NFC element can be a radio frequency identification (RFID) element.

Further still, the receiver 14 may include one or more auxiliary sensors 278 (such as a motion sensor such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, cyclometer, or a magnetic sensor and combinations thereof), an infrared (IR) sensor for receiving IR commands from a remote control, an optical sensor, a speed and/or cadence sensor, a gesture sensor (for sensing gesture commands) and so on providing input to the processor 266. An IR sensor 280 may be provided to receive commands from a wireless remote control. A battery (not shown) may be provided for powering the receiver 14.

The companion device 16 may incorporate some or all of the elements shown in relation to the receiver 14 described above.

The methods described herein may be implemented as software instructions executed by a processor, suitably configured application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) or field programmable gate array (FPGA) modules, or any other convenient manner as would be appreciated by those skilled in those art. Where employed, the software instructions may be embodied in a non-transitory device such as a CD ROM or Flash drive. The software code instructions may alternatively be embodied in a transitory arrangement such as a radio or optical signal, or via a download over the Internet.

Now referring to FIG. 3 , a simplified digital TV system such as an ATSC 3.0 system is shown. In FIG. 3 , a mobile or stationary digital TV receiver such as an ATSC 3.0 receiver 300 that may include any or all of the relevant components discussed above in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2 is located in a boundary region 302 between first and second ATSC 3.0 broadcast stations or assemblies 304, with signals from both broadcast stations 304 being picked up by the receiver 300 in the region 302. A first ATSC 3.0 service (“Service A”) is broadcast from the first broadcast station 304 over a first frequency 306, whereas the same service A or an equivalent service B is broadcast from the second broadcast station 304 over a second frequency 308 different from the first frequency 306. The receiver 300 picks up both frequencies, i.e., the receiver 300 picks up signals from both broadcast stations 304.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example non-limiting embodiment of a digital TV receiver such as an ATSC 3.0 receiver 400 that may include any or all of the relevant components discussed above in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2 . In the example shown, the ATSC 3.0 receiver 400 may be a stationary receiver, e.g., a receiver located inside a home. In some examples, the ATSC 3.0 receiver 400 may be a mobile receiver, e.g., as by being implemented in a mobile phone or being disposed in a moving vehicle.

The example ATSC 3.0 receiver 400 shown in FIG. 4 includes a tuner 402 sending signals to a demodulator 404 that the tuner picks up from one or more antennae 406. In the example shown, the receiver 400 includes one and only one tuner, one and only one demodulator, and one and only one antenna.

In contrast, FIG. 5 illustrates an example non-limiting embodiment of a digital TV receiver such as an ATSC 3.0 receiver 500 that may include any or all of the relevant components discussed above in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2 . In the example shown, the ATSC 3.0 receiver 500 may be a mobile receiver, e.g., as by being implemented in a mobile phone or being disposed in a moving vehicle. In some examples, the ATSC 3.0 receiver 500 may be a stationary receiver, e.g., a receiver located inside a home.

The example ATSC 3.0 receiver 500 shown in FIG. 5 includes plural tuners 502 sending signals to respective demodulators 504 picked up by the tuners from one or more antennae 506. In the non-limiting example shown, the ATSC 3.0 receiver 500 has two tuners and two demodulators, it being understood that the receiver may have a greater or lesser number of tuner/demodulators. In the non-limiting example shown, the ATSC 3.0 receiver 500 has four antennae, it being understood that the receiver may have a greater or lesser number of antennae. The receiver 500 may have the capability to switch antennae input to the tuners, such that a first tuner may receive signals from, e.g., three antennae and a second tuner may receive signals from the fourth antenna, and then a switch may be made to swap antenna input between the tuners. Two antennae may provide input to each respective tuner. All four antennae may provide input to a single tuner. These and other antenna-tuner configurations can be changed on the fly during operation as needed. The antennae may be movable relative to the receiver.

Quality metrics of RF frequencies are discussed herein, and may be identified and stored. The quality metrics can include, e.g., signal to noise ratio (SNR) and error rate as may be represented by, e.g., packet error number (PEN). The quality metrics can include resolution, e.g., whether a service is in high definition (HD) or standard definition (SD). The quality metric also can include bit-rate and form-factor, recognizing that not all HD is the same. The quality metrics can include content attributes such as whether a service supports foreign languages, accessibility signaling (e.g. where signing is being done), audio description, and other content aspects. The quality metrics can include locality preference (such as a first region channel being strong, but all the ads are for the first region and not a second region preferred by the user so that a duplicate service from the second region may be accorded preference over the first region). The quality metrics can include quality of user interfaces carried in the service.

In non-limiting examples SNR may be determined during the scan by noting both the received signal strength of each received frequency and any accompanying noise on that frequency and determining the quotient thereof. Error rate may be determined by, e.g., determining a percentage of packets missed (by noting missing packet numbers) and/or by determining a percentage of received packets with errors in them as determined by error correction algorithms.

FIG. 6 illustrates logic executable by a transmitter such as an OTA transmitter or OTT transmitter to send services on one or more frequencies, including, in the example of FIG. 6 , service “A” on frequency “A”. Moving to block 602, the transmitter or another transmitter in the system also sends (“signals”) a service list of services and corresponding RF frequencies, e.g., in a service list table (SLT), as well as one or more duplicate services on different frequencies.

FIG. 7 illustrates receiver logic consistent with present principles. Commencing at block 700, a first service carried on a first frequency (“A”) from a broadcaster is received and presented on an AV device. Proceeding to decision state 702, the receiver determines whether a duplicate, partial, equivalent, or preferred broadcast of the first service received on a different frequency (“B”), typically from a different transmitter when a boundary region is being traversed, has higher signal quality than the first frequency (A) using one or more of the quality metrics described herein for example, the receiver executes an automatic handoff of presenting the first service from frequency A to presenting that service as received on frequency B at block 704. Otherwise, the receiver continues presenting content from the first frequency (A) at block 700.

Note that in example implementations, the condition for changing frequencies may include complete loss of the first signal (frequency) by the first tuner. In other example implementations, the condition for changing frequencies can include degradation of the first signal below a threshold. In still other example implementations, the condition for changing frequencies, as discussed above, includes quality of the second signal (frequency) surpassing quality of the first signal (frequency).

FIGS. 8-10 illustrate various conditional techniques for broadcaster application management pursuant to automatic service handoff from block 704 of FIG. 7 . Broadcaster applications (BA) typically are downloaded by ATSC 3.0 receivers from broadcasters using ROUTE/DASH or MMT to undertake various functions. A broadcaster application may include a downloaded collection of interrelated documents intended to run in the application environment and perform one or more functions, such as providing interactivity or targeted ad insertion. The documents of an application can include (but are not limited to) HTML, JavaScript, CSS, XML and multimedia files. An application can access other data that are not part of the application itself. A broadcaster application may distinguish itself from other applications by its ability to support localized interactivity with no broadband connectivity. A BA refers to the client-side functionality of the broader web application that provides the interactive service. The distinction is made because the broadcaster only transmits the client-side documents and code.

State 800 is cast in decision flow format, it being understood that state logic equally may be used to indicate that FIG. 8 applies to service handoffs from block 704 in which the existing (pre-handoff) BA (broadcaster application “A” in FIG. 8 ) has the same context ID as the new (post-handoff) BA (broadcaster application “B” in FIG. 8 ) when tuning from channel A to channel B is the result of an automated process. If this condition is not met, the logic of FIG. 8 terminates at state 802. However, if the condition at state 800 is met, the logic moves to block 804 to notify the broadcaster application A that the service is changing. The broadcaster application A may continue to be executed at state 806 without interruption through and after the handoff the service to the new frequency.

It is noted that a context ID is a unique uniform resource identifier (URI) that is signaled in the broadcast and that determines which resources are provided to an associated broadcaster application by the receiver processor. Resources may be associated with multiple application context identifiers but a BA is only associated with a single context ID. Context IDs may be further specified in the HTML entry pages location description (HELD) portion of DASH-IF: “Guidelines for Implementation: DASH-IF Interoperability Point for ATSC 3.0,” DASH Industry Forum, incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 9 illustrates another condition of an automatic service handoff. FIG. 9 commences at state 900 and proceeds to block 902 in a second option or directly to decision diamond 904 in a first option (“options” mean “embodiments”). At block 902 the BA associated with a first frequency A supplies and/or updates data to pass to a second (replacement) BA associated with a second frequency B. From block 902 in the second option or directly from start state 900 in the first option the logic moves to diamond 904 to determine whether the first and second BAs have been signaled as having both the same application context IDs and same uniform resource listing (URL). If they do, the logic ends at state 906 (essentially implicating the logic of FIG. 8 ).

On the other hand, if the first and second BAs do not have the same context ID or do not have the same URL, the logic in the first option (embodiment) flows to block 908 to notify the first BA associated with frequency A that the frequency being tuned to is changing. Moving to block 910, in this option a response is received from the first BA that includes data to pass to the second BA, i.e., the BA of the new (second) frequency B.

From block 910 in the first option or directly from a negative outcome of the test at decision diamond 904 in the second option, the logic arrives at state 912 to terminate the first BA and then to launch the second BA at state 914. The application from the first BA is passed at block 916 to the second BA at block 916. The logic then ends at state 906.

FIG. 10 illustrates yet another condition for managing BAs during automatic service handoff. At block 1000, when automatically tuning from one frequency carrying a service to another frequency carrying that same service, as may occur, e.g., when a mobile receiver is transiting a boundary region between two transmitters, the existing BA (“A”) on the original frequency is notified of the impending handoff. Moving to block 1002, the original BA (“A”) is notified that it must, or may (i.e., mandatory or optional) provide data to the receiver, which then provides that data at block 1004 to the second frequency broadcaster application (“B”). This process may be used regardless of whether the context ID of BA “A” is the same as the context ID of BA “B” and regardless of whether the BAs have the same URLs as each other.

It will be appreciated that whilst present principals have been described with reference to some example embodiments, these are not intended to be limiting, and that various alternative arrangements may be used to implement the subject matter claimed herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. In digital television in which at least one receiver can receive broadcast signals from at least first and second digital television broadcast assemblies, a method, comprising: automatically handing off presentation of a first digital TV service from a first frequency to a second frequency; signal to a first broadcaster application (BA) associated with the first frequency that presentation is to be handed off or is being handed off; and related to handing off presentation, sending data associated with the first BA to a second BA associated with the second frequency.
 2. The method of claim 1, comprising identifying whether a context ID associated with the first BA is the same as a context ID associated with the second BA.
 3. The method of claim 2, comprising, responsive to the context IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, continuing to execute the first BA throughout the automatically handing off presentation of the first digital TV service from the first frequency to the second frequency.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first BA is associated with a first uniform resource listing (URL) and the second BA is associated with a second URL, and the method comprises, responsive to the context IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, switching the first BA from the first URL to the second URL.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first BA is associated with a first uniform resource listing (URL) and the second BA is associated with a second URL, and the method comprises, responsive to the context IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, sending data associated with the first BA to the second BA and executing the second BA to present the first service.
 6. The method of claim 1, comprising sending data associated with the first BA to the second BA responsive to handing off presentation regardless of whether a context ID of the first BA is the same as a context ID of the second BA and regardless of whether the first and second BAs have a common uniform resource locator (URL).
 7. The method of claim 1, comprising automatically handing off presentation of the first digital TV service from the first frequency to the second frequency responsive to loss of the first frequency.
 8. The method of claim 1, comprising automatically handing off presentation of the first digital TV service from the first frequency to the second frequency responsive to degradation of the first frequency.
 9. The method of claim 1, comprising automatically handing off presentation of the first digital TV service from the first frequency to the second frequency responsive to quality of the second frequency surpassing quality of the first signal.
 10. An apparatus comprising: at least one receiver configured to: receive a first digital television (DTV) service on a first frequency; present the first DTV service on at least one audio video display device; receive the first DTV service on a second frequency; responsive to at least one handoff condition being met, switch from presenting the first DTV service received on the first frequency to presenting the first DTV service received on the second frequency; signal a first broadcaster application (BA) associated with the first frequency of the switch; send data associated with the first BA to a second BA associated with the second frequency, wherein the receiver is configured to identify whether an ID associated with the first BA is the same as an ID associated with the second BA; and responsive to the IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, continue to execute the first BA throughout automatically handing off presentation of the first digital TV service from the first frequency to the second frequency.
 11. An apparatus comprising: at least one receiver configured to: receive a first digital television (DTV) service on a first frequency; present the first DTV service on at least one audio video display device; receive the first DTV service on a second frequency; responsive to at least one handoff condition being met, switch from presenting the first DTV service received on the first frequency to presenting the first DTV service received on the second frequency; signal a first broadcaster application (BA) associated with the first frequency of the switch; send data associated with the first BA to a second BA associated with the second frequency, wherein the receiver is configured to identify whether an ID associated with the first BA is the same as an ID associated with the second BA; and wherein the first BA is associated with a first uniform resource listing (URL) and the second BA is associated with a second URL, and the receiver is configured to, responsive to the IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, switch the first BA from the first URL to the second URL.
 12. An apparatus comprising: at least one receiver configured to: receive a first digital television (DTV) service on a first frequency; present the first DTV service on at least one audio video display device; receive the first DTV service on a second frequency; responsive to at least one handoff condition being met, switch from presenting the first DTV service received on the first frequency to presenting the first DTV service received on the second frequency; signal a first broadcaster application (BA) associated with the first frequency of the switch; send data associated with the first BA to a second BA associated with the second frequency, wherein the receiver is configured to identify whether an ID associated with the first BA is the same as an ID associated with the second BA; and wherein the first BA is associated with a first uniform resource listing (URL) and the second BA is associated with a second URL, and the receiver is configured to, responsive to the IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, sending data associated with the first BA to the second BA and executing the second BA to present the first service.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the receiver is configured to send data associated with the first BA to a second BA associated with the second frequency responsive to handing off presentation regardless of whether a context ID of the first BA is the same as a context ID of the second BA and regardless of whether the first and second BAs have a common uniform resource locator (URL).
 14. An apparatus comprising: at least one receiver comprising at least one processor programmed with instructions to configure the processor to: execute a first broadcaster application (BA) to present a first service received on a first frequency on at least one audio video (AV) display device, the first service comprising at least one digital television service; automatically switch presenting the first service received on the first frequency to presenting the first service received on a second frequency associated with a second BA; and wherein the first BA is associated with a first uniform resource listing (URL) and the second BA is associated with a second URL, IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, and the instructions are executable to switch the first BA from the first URL to the second URL.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are executable to: selectively send data associated with the first BA to the second BA.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the IDs comprise context IDs.
 17. An apparatus comprising: at least one receiver comprising at least one processor programmed with instructions to configure the processor to: execute a first broadcaster application (BA) to present a first service received on a first frequency on at least one audio video (AV) display device, the first service comprising at least one digital television service; automatically switch presenting the first service received on the first frequency to presenting the first service received on a second frequency associated with a second BA; and wherein the first BA is associated with a first uniform resource listing (URL) and the second BA is associated with a second URL, and the instructions are executable to, responsive to the context IDs of the first and second BAs being the same, sending data associated with the first BA to the second BA and executing the second BA to present the first service. 